Ryan Kentfield Interview
(This interview was previously published on EXPN.COM)
All Photos and interview are by Jeff Greenwood unless otherwise noted.
Ryan Kentfield is an individual with definite skateboard abilities. He has been living and brewing his talents under the gray and rainy skies of Seattle for many years. It’s always a pleasure to watch him bust out some real technical tricks with power and ease. He’s down to skate anything and never has anything bad to say. I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the future, his talents are too good to go without notice.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Seattle
Where did you first start skating?
I first started skating at SeaSk8 when it first started.
Where do you like skating now?
SeaTac is really fun, and all the local parks and downtown Seattle.
Who do you mostly skate with now?
John Wolf, Don Ballard, Joe Moorman, Jeremy Uttech, and Steve Gonzales.
Do you hit the Eastside (Bellevue WA) much?
Yeah, at least once or twice a week. Just because of the rain. There are some sick spots in downtown Bellevue, but you get kicked out fast so you gotta keep on the look out.
Who are you riding for now?
Faction, E’s Footwear, and Faction is starting a new denim company.
Where do you want to take skateboarding?
Just as far as I can, do a lot of traveling and skate as hard as I can.
Do you want to turn pro someday?
Hopefully, if I can stay not busted up.
How does skateboarding in the Northwest affect your skating?
It’s kind of lame in the wintertime, but I skate in a lot of garages, Bellevue Skatepark, and the B&I in Tacoma.
Do you ever think of leaving?
Yea, I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately
Where to?
Cali, maybe try to be near Eric Green in Vista California.
You’ve done really good in contests lately tell us about them.
Everett skatepark had a couple contests, I took first in one of those and then I took first in Mt. Vernon.
Are you going to Tampa?
Yea, I’m definitely going to Tampa.
What do you think of the mainstream aspect of skateboarding right now?
I think it’s dope! It’s good.
Do you see any bad things about it?
Nope, not really.
Do you have any props you want to throw out to anybody?
Yeah, definitely! The Faction, they have hooked me up more than anyone, and my mom too, she’s hooked me up phat too. And all the people I skate with.
What other kinds of things are you working on right now?
We’re working on a new Faction Video and that should set off the denim company really good. I’m heading to China on January 30th. I’m really stoked on that. Two weeks all expenses paid. That should be good.
You seem to mix up your skating pretty good between technical and powerful. Do you think that helps you?
I think it help me a lot. I can skate Tranny all right and street all right. I think I’ll just skate everything and I’ll be cool.
Have you ever been really hurt skateboarding?
Yeah, I’ve cracked my head a couple times. Concussions, ankle injuries, wrist injuries all the time, but that’s basically it.
Do you spend any time on-line?
I just started recently. We just got a new computer a couple weeks ago and I’ve been screwing around on it checking out the local skateboarding sites and stuff.
What do like about the online stuff?
It’s just cool to see what’s out there. It’s right there, you just have to push a few buttons.